Water Needed for 1lb of Beef for Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

Make perfectly cooked Instant Pot Ground Beef using fresh or frozen ground meat!

Forget to thaw out your ground beef to make Taco Meat or Lasagna? No worries! Use the Instant Pot to cook up any type of frozen ground meat and get dinner on the table as planned.

From Frozen to Cooked

If you go to make dinner and realize you have forgotten to thaw out your ground beef--YOU ARE NOT ALONE! I have done this more times than I care to admit.

As you most likely know, it is NOT safe to thaw meat out at room temperature, but what about safely cooking ground beef from frozen in an instant pot?

It works like MAGIC!

Just like the Instant Pot can cook frozen chicken breast, and frozen pot roast, The Instant Pot can be used to cook frozen ground meat effortlessly.

How to Pressure Cook Frozen Ground Beef

• Pour cold tap water into the bottom of the inner pot. Use 1 cup for a 3 or 6 quart instant pot and 1.5 cups for an 8-quart model. Then place in a metal trivet or rack inside the inner pot.

• Place the frozen ground beef on your trivet, and seal the instant pot closed with vent closed. Be sure all plastic, styrofoam, or any other packaging is completely removed from the frozen meat. If not, run under cold water until you can remove the packaging.

• Place the lid on the inner pot and seal. Set to high pressure and cook for 20 minutes for a 1-inch thick slab of frozen meat.
• Once the cooking time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Check the temperature with a meat thermometer--it should be at least 160 degrees. If it is not, seal again and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. *See my notes at end of the post to troubleshoot why your meat would need longer to cook.

• Carefully remove the meat from the instant pot and place in a large mixing bowl.
• Discard the cooking liquid and fat that drained off beef.
• Use a spatula to break up the ground meat and use just as you would for any recipe calling for browned or cooked ground beef.

How To Pressure Cook Fresh Ground Beef

You have two options when cooking fresh ground beef in your pressure cooker. You can opt to saute the meat using the saute function or you steam the beef for a hands-off method for cooking ground meat.

Option 1: Saute the Meat

Using the saute function on the Instant Pot, is nearly the same as browning the meat on the stove.

• Hit the saute function on the Instant Pot and then hit Adjust to change the heat to normal heat.
• Let the Instant Pot heat for 2-3 minutes. Some models display Hot once heated, some do not, but after a few minutes of time, you can begin to saute the meat.
• Add in a couple of teaspoons of oil and let the oil heat for 1 minute.
• Add the ground meat, and allow to cook, breaking the meat up into small pieces as it browns.
• Once the ground beef is cooked thoroughly, this takes about 6-7 minutes, turn the Instant Pot OFF.
• Drain off any excess grease and then use as desired. This works great for recipes like Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff, Instant Pot Chili, or Instant Pot Hamburger Helper.

A note to this method--it seems silly to get out your pressure cooker if you are just sauteing your meat (you can do that on the stove), but if you are using it to start another recipe you will finish in your Instant Pot, it is a great method to use!)

Option 2: Steam the Meat

• Pour cold tap water into the bottom of the inner pot. Use 1 cup for a 3 or 6-quart instant pot and 1.5 cups for an 8-quart model. Then place in a metal trivet or rack inside the inner pot.
• Place 1-2 pounds ground beef on your trivet seal the instant pot closed, with vent closed.Be sure to form your meat into a 1 thick patty/brick so that the meat cooks uniformly. Just the way meat comes in the Styrofoam tray.
• Set to high pressure and cook for 6 minutes.
• Once cook time has elapsed, allow the pressure to release for 5 to 10 minutes, then do a quick release of any remaining pressure.
• Check the internal temperature with meat thermometer--it should be at least 160 degrees. If it is not, seal again and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. *See my notes at end of the post to troubleshoot why your meat would need longer to cook.
• Once your meat is cooked, carefully remove it from the instant pot and break it up and use it as you would for any ground beef recipe.
• Discard liquid (and fat that drained off beef) from your Instant Pot Base.

FAQs on Instant Pot Ground Meat

Can you cook other types of ground meat in the Instant Pot using this method?

YES! This would work perfectly for any ground meat like pork, chicken, or turkey and the cooking times would remain the same.

What about the texture of meat being steamed over browned in Instant Pot?

HA! I wondered that too. And I was hesitant to try out my test for a while due to the fear I would be WASTING ground beef. But let me assure you, the texture is amazing on ground beef cooked this way. It is soft but still firm--it is not mealy, mushy, or watery at all. There are no crispy brown bits in the meat, instead, everything is cooked perfectly.

What about the taste of the meat?

Tastes delicious, no difference in taste.

Do you have to add water to bottom of Instant Pot?

Yes, that moisture allows the pressure to build up in your instant pot.

Do you have to use your trivet?

YES!! The trivet does 3 things: prevents the meat from getting watery, prevents the meat from scorching, and allows the fat to drain off the meat as it cooks.

Can you add seasonings to the meat?

Absolutely! However, I find it is best to season the ground beef after it has been pressure cooked and broken up for even flavoring.

Troubleshooting and Timing for Instant Pot Ground Beef

• I have tested this recipe out with 1 and 2 pounds of ground beef that was frozen in a ¾ to 1-inch block (not a tube). If you want to cook meat from a frozen tube, you will need to increase cooking time. I would start with increasing the time to 25 minutes.
• I would not recommend cooking more than 3-4 pounds of frozen meat at a time. Doing so, would overcrowd your Instant Pot and therefore would cause it to take forever to reach pressure. Not only is this time-consuming, it potentially could be dangerous if you have frozen meat hanging out long waiting to cook.
• To cook 3-4 pounds of meat, increase the time by 5 minutes per pound for frozen meat.
• Be sure to completely remove packaging from frozen meat BEFORE cooking--you don't want any wax, paper, or lining left on the meat before cooking.
• In all my tests, it has never taken longer than 11 minutes to reach pressure for this recipe for frozen ground beef in the instant pot. The average time was 7 minutes.
• Pro-Tip: Freeze your meat in 1 inch thick slabs so that the meat will cook evenly in the instant pot.

Recipes using Ground Beef

• Instant Pot Chili
• Instant Pot Lasagna
• Homemade Hamburger Helper
• Slow Cooker Chili
• Mexican Lasagna

If this method for cooking frozen ground beef in the Instant Pot saved your dinner, I would love for you to leave a comment and rating below.

• ▢ 1-2 pounds ground meat beef, turkey, chicken, or pork

Cook Mode Prevents your screen from going dark while preparing the recipe.

• Cover bottom of the pot with 1 cup cold water for a 3 or 6-quart instant pot and 1.5 cups of cold water for an 8-quart instant pot. Add in trivet and place frozen or fresh ground meat directly on trivet.

• Put the lid on the Pressure Cooker and turn valve to seal.

• Set to High Pressure for 20 minutes if frozen, 6 minutes if fresh.

• Once finished cooking, let the pressure release naturally for 5 to 10 minutes and then do a quick release of any remaining pressure. Check the temperature with a meat thermometer--it should be 160-165 degrees. If it is not, seal again and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.

• Carefully remove trivet from Instant Pot.  Discard cooking liquid and grease and break up ground beef using a spatula into desired size. Use as desired.

• This method works best when your meat is in a ¾ to 1-inch thick brick so that the meat cooks uniformly.
• If your meat is frozen in a tube form, start with cooking on high pressure for 25 minutes. Check the middle of the meat after cook time to be sure an internal temperature of 160 degrees has been reached.
• I would not recommend cooking more than 3-4 pounds of frozen meat at a time. Doing so, would overcrowd your Instant Pot and therefore would cause it to take forever to reach pressure. Not only is this time-consuming, it potentially could be dangerous if you have frozen meat hanging out long waiting to cook.
• Be sure to completely remove packaging from frozen meat BEFORE cooking--you don't want any wax, paper, or lining left on the meat before cooking.
• Pro-Tip: Freeze your meat in 1 inch thick slabs so that the meat will cook evenly in the instant pot.
• 7-10 Minutes to get to pressure + 20 Minutes to cook+ Release pressure after 5 minutes.

Calories: 155 kcal | Protein: 24 g | Fat: 5 g | Saturated Fat: 2 g | Cholesterol: 70 mg | Sodium: 74 mg | Potassium: 392 mg | Calcium: 10 mg | Iron: 2.7 mg

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Hi, I am Kristen, creator of A Mind "Full" Mom. I believe that making a wholesome family meal does not need to be hard or expensive! I love nothing more than to share with you delicious solutions for your hungry family.

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